About Lino

Lino is an artist, humorist, and occasional responsible adult. He is the co-founder of a challenge-based LEGO car club called LUGNuts which boasts over 1100 members worldwide. He proposed automotive building challenges every month for ten years (120 challenges!) which he and the other members built accordingly. LUGNuts has retired its challenges on its 10th anniversary but still remains a cornerstone for LEGO automotive builders. Between his artistic work and LEGO builds, Lino has been published in several books, including Beautiful LEGO, Beautiful LEGO: Dark, and Beautiful LEGO: Wild. He lives in Washington with his girlfriend and dogs.

Posts by Lino

Make no bones about it

LEGO builder Mitsuru Nikaido is back with another one of his animal mechs and this time he’s left off the protective exoskeleton. Instead, you have a fish that has a…regular skeleton. This fishy mech follows the same white and gray color scheme that his other animal mechs have so it makes for a great new addition to the line. As always, Mitsuru has demonstrated some very nice parts usage. I’m particularly fond of the repeated use of these handlebars along its backbone. I advise you clear your schedule, settle in, and check out these mechs by Mitsuru and others.

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No Pain, no Gain! Feel the burn!

LEGO builder Patrick Biggs presents us with two demons; their names are Pain and Gain. No one knows which is which but they always work together. Their dumbells were cleverly constructed using tires and rims and their clenched teeth are emulated using bevel gears. These are popular demons that are frequently summoned by every meathead dropping their weights and exhaling the ancient spell: “No Pain, no Gain”. Incidentally, the same can be said after eating an entire gallon of ice cream in one sitting. Despite building the very personification of the “no pain, no gain” motto, Patrick tells us he didn’t spend his time wisely and had no winning plans for building this duo. That right there is why he wins the internet today. Here are several other instances where Patrick has totally won the internet.

The Star Wars StarFortress is loaded and ready

The sequel Star Wars movies brought us the MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 Bomber. Nevermind trying to figure out how bombs can drop in the vacuum of zero-gravity space. Forget that they seemed to be dangerous fiery tinderboxes that would engulf its crew and anyone else within farting distance. They were neat and rather imposing visually, and when it comes to selling movie tickets and merchandise, that’s all that matters, really. Thomas Jenkins gives the Resistance bomber the LEGO midi-scale treatment and the result is quite good. LEGO sold us a minifig scale 75188 Resistance Bomber back in 2017 with, I would imagine, some moderate success. But this model, though smaller, seems to portray its shaping and proportions better. It just goes to show that you don’t need a massive payload of bricks to drop an accurate looking bomber like this one.

George Floyd was human, just like us

LEGO builder and Instagram user Pedro Sequeira reminds us that George Floyd was…a human, just like us. George’s May 25th death, his suffocation under the knee of a police officer, has sparked outrage around the globe. This phenomenon is not new, not by a longshot. People of color have not had an easy go, or even a fair go, in the US and elsewhere. Peaceful protests, while admirable, often go unheard, and can in turn sometimes lead to violence and looting, which is also not the answer. This leaves us wondering what can be done to enact change — real lasting change. If leadership cannot address civil injustice at their level then it is often best to begin to enact change ourselves with our votes and our wallets. Treating others fairly should be a no-brainer but often this requires the help of grassroots organizations, and the SPLC and the ACLU come to mind as good places to start. Please support them if you can.

Do you even lift, bro?

I was just blasting my quads when I saw this little LEGO diorama by NS Brick Designs. And by “blasting my quads” I mean laughing at dachshund videos, checking out creations for potential write-ups, and updating my Netflix queue. While I may be a master of multi-tasking, there is no actual quad-blasting in this household. Despite having no children I have a bit of a “dad bod” thing going on here. But this minifig has abs you can grate cheese with, whatever that means. He dedicates much of his time to building muscle mass and cardio and not so much watching Netflix. Kudos to you if you’re into it. I’ve tried running once but all the ice kept spilling out of my cocktail. Anyway, sweet kettlebells though. I actually know what those are. Are you surprised?

I’m just gonna drop this right here

It’s funny when I imagine a cargo dropship I imagine ordering goods online, then a dropship drops them in front of my house from a mile above and shatters them all over my driveway. But I suppose the process is more sophisticated in space. Red Spacecat has built a LEGO cargo dropship and it’s precisely how anyone would imagine it. It’s like this thing already exists even though it comes from a builder’s imagination. That is a testament to its clean and practical design. I’m particularly loving its dark blue (with a flash of dark red) color scheme. The rotating engines are an added touch of brilliance. Red Spacecat seems to be an up-and-coming builder we should all pay attention to. We’ve featured another model from this same person earlier this week.

You mess with the bull, you get the horns!

Brothers Brick regular Aido K. has built a LEGO mechanical bull but not the kind you ride at your local whiskey bar. In fact, you’d probably want to steer clear of this one. (See what I did there?) Aido has taken an animal that is chock full of rage, muscle and testosterone and mechanized it because apparently that’s what the world needs. All kidding aside, this creation is as magnificent as the real beast. The posturing, the horns, even the flared nostrils are a sight to behold. LEGO chains add texturing to the underbelly and I spy a few tires used in creative ways. My favorite part has got to be the tail comprised of feathered wings. The light brick illuminating the eyes is an added touch of brilliance. This bull joins a long line of mechanized animals we’ve enjoyed featuring over the years.

The last American muscle car

It’s funny, show me a Lamborghini or a Ferrari and I barely notice. But show me some classic American muscle and my heart goes pitter-patter. Luckily Thomas Gion knows just the thing to get on my radar (and I suspect others as well) with this LEGO 1973 Buick Gran Sport.The sloped rear, the pointed grille and bumper and especially the tilted pillar encompasses the look and feel of the car nicely. The classic five-spoke rims and the minifigg driver are just icing on this souped-up cake.

Monkey business is booming

Monkeys can be a public nuisance in places like India, the Caribbean, and even in Singapore.These particular monkeys however are on a mission and they’ve taken the art of robbing markets to a whole ‘nother level! Kev.the.Builder presents a LEGO scene where a monkey scout sits in the trees and reports every movement to the commander. Another monkey perches atop the stall, waiting for the order to strike. The monkey commander leads the mission, methodically planning a infallible raid sequence. Every mission has its adversities, but the result is always the same: the monkeys get the bananas! Even without the monkeys, this would be an engaging scene with great colors and textures. The Mediterranean tile roof, the thatched awning, even the caged chickens are all fantastic details. Is it wrong that I’m rooting for the monkeys?

She brings grumpiness to life

Builder Felix Jaensch has constructed a life-sized LEGO figure he calls “Grumpy Girl”. He tells us “she is in a huff at the moment” but offers no other explanation for her dour demeanor. Maybe she’s cold? Annoyed? Maybe she’s in a huff at the condition of the world today? Maybe she just doesn’t want to turn that frown upside-down right now. Who knows, this piece poses more questions than answers. But there is no denying the skill needed to bring this grumpy young lady to life.

This shot offers up clear details, her lips in a pout, her well-sculpted nose, and even her zipper on her hoodie are all amazing details. She’s seen some things in her day and she’s a bit peeved by it, and that’s OK. While her expression may be dour, she still puts a smile on my face, even for just a little while.

Here are plenty of other times Felix’s life-like work has made us smile.

Iyo-Iyo-ooooh Wah Wah Wah

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly…that is some classic Western, right there! Just the first few bars of that catchy theme song is enough to conjure images of a barren desert, of tumbleweeds, and of Clint Eastwood squinting into the distance. This LEGO creation by Miro Dudas</a> is enough to conjure those images as well. You don’t even have to see Clint’s face to know he’s squinting. That’s the genius of Miro’s minimalist approach to some of his work. The forced perspective of the smaller figures are a stroke of brilliance. He even took this photo during sunset to give it just the right feel. We seem to like Western themes here at The Brothers-Brick. I know I do. Now that we got that tune stuck in your head here’s a different version that hopefully you have not heard yet.

Hang in there, gas stations. We’ll need you in Valhalla!

The apocalypse didn’t happen quite as we had expected. Most of us have the masks and social distancing down pat, but when is it appropriate to start wearing spiked shoulder pads and warpaint? I mean, will shouting “witness me!” while spraying chrome paint over my teeth whisk me away to glorious Valhalla, or will it just make me look foolish at a Starbucks? I really want to do right by this apocalypse thing. I can assure you, the last thing I want is to look foolish at Starbucks while ordering a pumpkin spice latte. This LEGO abandoned garage by Kai/Geneva reminds me that this has been more of a stay home, stay safe and watch Netflix kind of apocalypse. I do hope that they hang in there, though.

While I have not visited a gas station in nearly three months, there may come a time when we’ll have rage-fueled war convoys, and when that happens, we’ll need all the gas we can get. So hang in there, please! Someday, when apocalyptic fashion dictates, I may outfit my little Beetle with truck tires and steel girders and wreak bloody havoc on the Fury Road…or to Whole Foods to pick up some kale and quinoa. You know, the impulse items.